Montreal

LGBT Travel Guide

Why you should go to Montreal!

On an island in the St. Lawrence River, Montreal is a rich center of culture and a cosmopolitan city of design steeped in European heritage. Today, it considered one of the world's most gay-positive cities.

The French colonists arrived in 1642, led by Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve, who founded Ville-Marie, today's Old Montreal. According to the Quebec Gay Archives, there was even a gay military drummer among the first settlers convicted of committing "crimes of the worst kind," whose life was spared upon agreeing to become the colony's first executioner. Some of the earliest buildings remain including the Sulpician Seminary next to the Notre Dame Basilica and Chateau Ramezay, but the French influence can still be found throughout modern Montreal's distinct culture, mixed with the influences of subsequent arrivals from Ireland, Italy, Haiti, Greece, Lebanon and China, to name just a few. The variety of cultures is perhaps most apparent in the city's wide culinary offer, but also reflected in the overwhelmingly welcoming spirit on the island.

Gay and lesbian culture also got an early start although clandestine at first. Gay men cruised Old Montréal's military Champs de Mars, today the area behind Montréal City Hall. The first known LGBTQ-themed magazine in North America, Les Mouches Fantastiques, was published in 1918, and an established gay scene began to flourish in the 1950s, subject to raids up until 1990 when the police raided the Sex Garage loft party, regarded as Montreal's Stonewall, sparking the LGBT movement.

Not long after, the Black and Blue festival was born, with activism and pride paving the way for legal victories like same-sex marriage and the emergence of the Gay Village in Saint Catherine Street East, filled with magical pink lanterns and gay businesses. The Marche de Fierté gay pride in August is only one of over a hundred festivals including the world renown International Jazz Festival and Just for Laughs comedy festival.

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Connect with the Community

Find and connect with the locals and visitors and see what's happening in Montreal

Founded in 1983, the Quebec Gay Archives preserve the history of the LGBT community of Quebec with an impressive collection of magazines, newspapers, books, videos, posters, photos and other items. Visitors can explore the materials in a comfortable and well-lit reading room, which also doubles as a gallery for some of...